Philos
by Primordial Dane
Summary: Angel is forced to birth a genetically modified Siren son as Handsome Jack's newest weapon against the Crimson Raiders. However, he later escapes with the help of both his mother and an unstoppable power hidden within him. Story takes inspiration from the Hulk films, and focuses on the relationships between Angel, her son (OC), his love interest Athena, and the other Vault Hunters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

– **Angel's Chamber –**

* * *

"I'm not going to say it again, Angel. You need to do this. And it will only be once, I promise. I make sacrifices all the time, sweetheart. It's what heroes do. And it's time for my daughter to step up and be a hero to Pandora as well."

Handsome Jack stood in front of Angel, the impenetrable orange shield of Angel's prison separating them. He stared down at his daughter in a feigned sympathetic look, mixed with irritation from the previously heated argument they had been having. Angel was on her knees at his feet with watery eyes staring back at him in a pleading manner.

"Jack- Dad, why would you even do something like this?" Her voice pleading and nearly a whisper from fear. "You want me to birth a genetically modified human being and toss it at Roland and the Crimson Raiders like a weapon!" Her mood turned to righteous anger as she stood up, "Do you have any idea how fucked up that is!?"

Angel's face of anger quickly contorted to a face of pain as she doubled over from a continuous electric shock to her collar, screaming in agony as her father berated her. "Language, Angel. Language." The shocking ceased, allowing Angel to once again gaze up at her father and listen to his condemning words. "Roland and his little Raider asshats have a Dahl commando with a prototype anti-personnel turret, a teenage brainiac with a respawning death robot, a cloaking ninja-assassin, a gun-toting roid-raging midget with seemingly endless ammo, an eight foot tall berserker with the strength of a super gorilla, a Pandoran native drunk whom happens to be the best sharpshooter on this side of the galaxy, our escaped slag psycho-mutant experiment, and two Sirens with kickass powers, one of them apparently constantly jacked up on raw Eridium. And don't get me started with Roland, the one who brought all this scum together in the first place. So my solution to that rag-tag band of freaks and sirens is to create a badass that can take them all on and get rid of them for good; because everything I throw at them, they all seem to survive, and I can't even think to bombard their crap hole of a flying city now because their aforementioned Eridium junkie can apparently just poof it to somewhere else on the goddamn continent, bandits and all!" His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed into almost a sneer when he uttered his next words slowly, "And I know the original four Vault Hunters were able to kill The Destroyer because it was weak, and it was weak because it had just woken up and didn't have enough time to reach its full potential. And that was just with the four of them. There's six more of them now, and I know that same thing can happen to the Warrior. Trust me, the vault on Elpis told me everything. I need these Crimson Raiders and all their Vault Hunters out of the picture. Otherwise, they will find a way to kill my Warrior before he becomes useful."

Jack took a few seconds to regain his composure and run a hand over his hair. "That's why I need you for this now more than ever; to help me create the solution to that problem. I need you to do the honor of bringing this... awesome problem solver into the world, because your Siren DNA will pass on to him- yes, it will be a boy- and give him the powers of a Siren. You, Angel, a Siren yourself, delivering the first male siren in the Universe, and last I checked, all Sirens are sterile. Think about that, Angel. You'll be doing something huge, something otherwise impossible," Jack took a brief moment to pause, and after no more interjections from Angel, he knew this argument was finally coming to a close. "Gestation period is only three weeks, and in that meantime, you won't have to worry about me shocking you, so, sweetheart, it won't be so bad. We've got equipment all ready for installation that will make this a bit easier for you." A handful of engineers and loaders entered the chamber with a few large advanced medical machines in tow, placing them all around Angel's shield-prison. "All you need to do is carry, then bring him in. They'll do all the rest." Jack pointed to three scientists in lab coats that had just entered the chamber after the muscle had cleared enough room moving their machinery. They each had their own face of apprehension and guilt as they walked in. They clearly didn't want to do any of this.

 _This really is happening,_ Angel thought, a single tear rolling down her cheek. No sense in postponing the inevitable. _I'm going to_ _give birth to a spliced super soldier_ _to destroy the only people that are able to free_ _me_ _._ Another tear found its way down her other cheek. What felt like a nightmare the past several minutes was actually becoming so horrifyingly real. She looked back up from her previously repressed realization. "How do you know this will even work?" Angel asked in a defeated, but still frightened, tone.

"These guys are some of the greatest geneticists Hyperion has to offer, who assure me that this will work and not cause any harm to you or the child. Right, doctors?" Jack glanced at the three scientists in lab coats, who all three in return nodded out of fear and passed their respective guilt-ridden glances toward Angel as they got to work. "They gave me a huge explanation about the whole thing. Got pretty boring, but to sum it up for ya, he'll have… a few extra chromosomes, but otherwise look like a regular guy, save for any Siren markings he may have. Mentally… that's a different story. Let's just say I have a way of making sure he only attacks the bandits, the Raiders, … and any other jackasses that piss me off or betray me." Jack glanced to the side, fists clenched, brooding over the memories of the people that betrayed him on Elpis, but only for several seconds.

These several seconds were enough time for Angel to collect some of her thoughts on this genetic abomination she will be forced to grow inside of her. _A_ _mentally unstable artificial Siren with the abilities to fight and kill my only friends_ , a _nd this_ thing _is going to be my_ son. Angel then realized this _thing_ would also be very much human and would likely have emotions and rational thought just like everyone else. She took this as something positive, but it saddened her further at the fact that this being, her child, would be born for only one purpose: to kill her friends… though they wouldn't see her the same way after being forced to betray them. Angel's melancholic daze was shaken away when Jack started talking again, though she decided to cling onto that one positive thought for her child.

"I'd honestly much rather grow this bad boy start to finish in the vat, but we learned that the hard way." Jack glanced at the doctors again. The three scientists shuddered in haunting memory of the many lifeless husks of barely human failed specimens; the outcome of the first couple months of this project. "If our Siren pulls it off, and I'm sure he will, I could seriously have this guy as my bodyguard – and yours too, of course. He'd be a bit too stupid to follow orders more complex than 'destroy', 'protect', 'halt', et cetera, but really, that's how bodyguards should work!" Jack chuckled, "And the Siren thing, I've just realized, isn't fitting for him, since he'd be a dude. I think I'd rather call him… a Manticore. Sounds fierce, powerful, masculine. Why didn't I think of that before?" He turned his head toward the scientists again, "Change the name to that, will ya? Way better than the lame title you guys came up with." He returned his cold gaze back to Angel and finally remade eye contact with his daughter. Jack kneeled down toward Angel's level and looked into her tear-sodden blue eyes, "Be a good girl and let the doctors do their job… please." Jack's expression turned to what seemed like genuine guilt after those words, albeit subtle, but enough for Angel to notice and be left speechless from surprise. The display of emotions went as quickly as it came, however, and was replaced with his usual uncaring, apathetic gaze. He stood back up and walked toward the exit, ordered one of the scientists to inject Angel with a sedative as soon as the force field "protecting" her went down, and left the chamber.

Angel didn't even bother to struggle. Though the sedative was purely to prevent any resistance to what the doctors had to do to her, she had given up trying to resist what Jack was already setting in motion. As drowsiness began to consume her, the scientists began hooking her up with wires and narrow tubes to a couple of the previously mentioned machines, and would afterwards be ready to inject the spliced DNA into one of Angel's eggs. The last thing Angel saw before fading into unconsciousness was one of the scientists' digital tablets open to a file named:

Project Manticore

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

There will be Author's Notes at the end of most, if not all, chapters of this story where I will plot down my thoughts on the respective chapters (without spoiling, of course), and these sections are completely optional to read; they are not critical to the reading of the story. I can answer any questions regarding chapters and clarifying any text read throughout them, but any questions with sensitive material to the story, i.e. things that can spoil the plot, I cannot answer. I'll simply urge you to keep reading if there are chapters afterward or ask for your patience in hopefully finding your answers in future chapters.

This is story as a whole is something I started on my own that isn't school related, and I graduated high school in 2014. Needless to say, my writing skill is rusty and below college level for sure. I am definitely not an upholder of New England high society English, but I will make an effort in correct grammar and spelling for sure, at least for the story itself.

This story is of course in the plot of Borderlands 2, more specifically after the events in Opportunity but before the assault on Control Core Angel, but with my own twists that drastically change some parts and details about the story, and centered mostly around events involving my OC and Angel. My OC will also take a lot of inspiration from the Incredible Hulk, more specifically the movies, as I was never interested in comics, but always saw the Hulk as my favorite superhero ever since I was in Elementary school. There will be differences with my character, of course.

Many game mechanics will be removed/altered to add more realism, but also more suspense and drama. Here's several of them in case you are curious or want to waste some time:

-The New-U system does not exist and never will exist. No respawning. Perma-death.

-There are fewer fast travel stations, some of which are completely non-operational, and each are more spread out across many miles.

-There are no miracle healing hypos that take seconds to mend wounds. They take much longer to be effective and they are far less efficient; more doses are required throughout the healing process, depending on severity. They cannot do much with fatal wounds, but they do get the job done with non-fatal wounds.

-Salvador, Krieg, and Brick are among the few characters who keep their unrealistic natural healing rates, some more than others. Everyone else is completely normal. (And yes, Krieg can still enter his badass form).

-The first two mountains of meat mentioned above have horrible aim with firearms: because Krieg's mind and focus are pretty crappy in general to say the least, and because Salvador likes to go gunzerk. A lot. Gaige also has equally horrible aim due to inexperience, same with other certain characters.

-Maya's Phaselock as a whole is less effective, its usefulness dependent the amount of mass being affected (note that weight does not matter… get it? Matter). The duration decreases and the amount of concentration increases the more massive the person or object, and is flat out useless on objects that are too massive. She can additionally move the object in question (like in the opening credits) up to a set velocity proportionate to its mass. Her cooldown also changes depending on how much mass she had affected and for how long. Maya cannot use the orb of slag or heal with Phaselock.

-Lilith is very resistant against fire. Wouldn't make sense otherwise.

-Elemental weapons do not exist. Elemental ammo, however, does exist, and can be swapped with most firearms depending on the situation. Elemental status effects (completely engulfed in flames, corrosion, electricity, and cryo) are drastically less likely to occur. Slag is left out entirely from weaponry and is purely a mutagen.

-Torgue weapons are the only weapons that can use explosive ammo, since they are built to handle the massive recoil of the much larger and heavier projectiles. They are also much harder to handle because of said recoil and because of their weight; shotguns and rocket launchers can only be used by the strongest and bulkiest of people, assault rifles are a bit more safe, and pistols can be used by average people who can handle a kickback harder than a .44.

I could make the above list even longer, but you get the idea. I'm trying to make this story a bit more realistic than in the game. And also because I'd like to add my own spice to this soup… not my best analogy.

The science fiction and game mechanics I do leave in, I will try to explain in the most scientifically convincing way I can, but I am going to have to get really creative with some, so bear with me. It'll be kinda like how Mass Effect explains their mechanics, except they're actually good at it. Some people coin the term "Space Magic" when they try to make things that are most likely physically impossible seem like they actually could happen (hell, maybe some of it can), so I'll be using that term as well.

I want this story to be about friendship and love of different kinds – not just romantic love (but there will be plenty of that, generous readers), and coat it in darker adult themes like intense violence, drug use, and possibly unsettling topics. There will be many action scenes, "Hulk" scenes included, in which I'll do my best to portray with words, and there will also be some detailed sexual themes in which I'll try my best not to be too explicit (however, my Pathos will involve a lot of fluff in between certain events; I will be attempting a lot of character interactions). Needless to say, this is M rated. It may not seem so for the first chapter or few, but it will most likely get pretty violent and adult-themed later on, depending on how I progress the story, so discretion is advised. On another note, there will be actions and interactions from characters that some would find very strange… You'll have to see.

All in all, my goal for this story is to portray feelings of empathy, rage, passion, love, and melancholy, to name a few, but to also cater to those who enjoy reading more gritty, primal, violent stories and scenes. Like I said before, it could get graphic. Before I type a kilometer's worth of paragraphs in this one entry, I'll end my first session of Author's Notes here. Thank you very much for taking the time in reading my Prologue… and these notes, since you wouldn't be reading this sentence otherwise. Unless you read from bottom to top, in which case, good luck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

– **Angel's Chamber –**

* * *

Apprehension.

This was all Angel could feel for her first week of pregnancy. Feelings of dread and shame would come at her in waves every time she thought of what this child will bring to Pandora, and of how he will help Handsome Jack unleash doomsday to the innocents living on it. Not all the inhabitants on the planet were bandits. There are families and small peaceful communities scattered across its globe, struggling to thrive against chaotic ecosystems, bandits, and more recently, Hyperion. Even with said bandits, many of them have no choice but to resort to that lifestyle. And the Crimson Raiders – Vault Hunters included – with all their quirks and dark pasts, each of them were still good people trying to help the innocent and stop Jack. All these people have no choice on what is to come. Neither does Angel. Come to think of it, neither does the thing growing inside her.

Movement. Her first kick. Angel snapped out of her melancholy and looked down in surprise, placing a hand on the bare skin of her slight bump. She had to wear a modified version of her suit that left her whole abdomen uncovered for unobstructed connection of the majority of the wires and tubes to her uterus, and to allow free room for the quickened expansion of her uterus itself. She remembered being told that these particular wires and tubes delivered vital prenatal nutrients into her placenta, as well as advanced growth stimulants that sped the process of gestation. The baby was certainly growing fast.

Another kick. They weren't painful, but they were strong and noticeable for a human fetus so underdeveloped. These first fetal movements further opened her eyes about the situation. _This is more than just a thing,_ She thought, _This is a baby. A mostly human baby boy, and a Siren like me… and he's depending on me._ _This is life. A living_ _sapient being_ _that wants to survive just as much as anyone else, even in utero._

A tear escaped her eye as she placed her other hand over the first. She was still fearful of the being inside of her, and remorseful for the pain he would be capable of causing, but now she was beginning to feel empathy for him as a human being, and felt a semblance of hope for the good he could potentially cause as well, but that would be up to him. _I may not have a choice, but you will._ She looked up with a newfound determination. _I may never see freedom again, but_ you _will. I will find a way to free you_ _before_ _he_ _can control you_ _, little one._ _So you can make your own choices._ She looked down at her stomach again. _I promise._ As if the child could sense what she was thinking, Angel felt a few seconds of gentle movement, causing her to smile faintly. She decided to think of a name for her son, a name that likely only she would know, for her son would probably never remember. She decided to call him Orion.

* * *

Orion was becoming a very active child, a fact obvious to Angel every time she made any physical contact with her growing midsection. Even a simple brush of her hand would elicit at least a jolt from the child, a feeling similar to when he would periodically get hiccups, much to Angel's amusement. She had recently entered her second week of pregnancy and she was getting big. A doctor would perform checkups on her and the baby once a day, on Jack's orders, to observe the progression and make sure there were no complications. Jack was heartless for using Angel like this, but he still didn't want his Siren daughter, and his technically Siren grandson, to be harmed. Angel hoped that if this child was really going to appear human, that he would look more like her instead of her father.

Her father. He stopped being her father long ago, a fact Angel had come to terms with years ago in her imprisonment. She resented the man, but did everything he asked of her, because she had no choice. But her son would. She desperately wanted to give her son this chance by freeing him when he would be capable of defending himself – she just didn't know how.

Angel used her Siren powers to shift her mind into the digital realm as she would always do for the majority of her time, getting lost in the code and subroutines that weren't specially firewalled to keep her out. She hoped that she would find some clue or eureka that would help her figure out how to proceed with her plan. She searched and wandered until she discovered something that was like nothing she had ever encountered in the ocean of data. It was incredibly complex, ever-changing, and sluggish, but at the same time felt rather empty, and… was it reacting to her presence?

Her child moved. Angel looked down and naturally smiled, but she immediately returned her focus on finding out what this anomaly was. She delved deeper into the anomaly, but she noticed that the deeper she searched, the more the digital world faded from her vision, and the harder it was to concentrate – but she had a feeling that what she would find here would help her set a plan in motion for little Orion, whom was becoming very antsy for some reason. She started rubbing her bump to calm him down, which seemed to help a little, and began trying to pinpoint where this completely alien environment she was exploring was originating from. She sensed that it was close. Very close. She delved further, and was completely taken aback that she could actually experience and sense what she believed was a consciousness with the slightest hint of emotions. She immediately stopped rubbing her bump after she put two and two together and at last realized what she was sensing: her son. She had entered Orion's mind.

Angel gasped audibly and looked down at her stomach again with now watery eyes, snapping out of her Phaseshift. Her bouncing baby boy was now squirming from her sudden withdrawal, which felt uncomfortable for her to say the least, so Angel quickly entered his mind again, instantly soothing him. Angel was astounded at what she could do. She could telepathically communicate with individuals, yes, but that was due to the collar around her neck, and it never allowed her to actually enter and explore the conscious and subconscious of any living thing. She wondered why she was able to do that now, and with her baby, and concluded that it was likely due to the simplicity of his very young mind as well as his physical proximity to her. This newfound ability, she discovered, definitely required more concentration than with something digital and artificial, however.

After her amazement subsided, Angel realized that she had never actually spoken to her child directly yet. After all, she was still somewhat shy toward him, due to the nature of the pregnancy and the child itself. She decided to speak to him telepathically, curious to see how he would react. _Hello in there._ She spoke very softly and timidly, but still triggered an eager response in the form of fetal movement. She smiled. _How's my baby boy?_ Another non-verbal answer, except this time Angel could actually feel enthusiasm in the response. _I'm your mommy, little one._ Another response. Tears flowed freely down her face as she rubbed her stomach gingerly. _Mommy's here, sweetie. I care about you, don't worry._ Orion let his acknowledgement be known once again, except this time Angel sensed something that immediately broke her down in tears of joy: he was happy. Angel giggled softly to her unborn child's interaction. She then had a moment of epiphany; she had a clear idea on how she would help him escape, when he would be strong enough.

* * *

Angel was on her final day of her pregnancy, as the doctors predicted, and to put it simply, she was huge; she looked like she could be carrying twins, but that of course was not the case. The baby himself would be considered overdue in a normal pregnancy, and she had a bit more amniotic fluid than normal. This was all within safe parameters, of course; the members of the project were thorough in their testing and calculations beforehand to make sure that the pregnancy would be completely safe. All in all, this would definitely be a cesarean section. Angel had generous hips, but it wouldn't be enough for little Orion.

Angel placed her hands on her massive bulge of fluid and child, tracing over every inch of skin. It was smooth to the touch but very tight and sensitive, and it didn't help much with how overly active the child within was being. His movements were very strong and sometimes somewhat painful, in which Angel would have to calm him down by speaking to him, which she didn't mind. Any fetal movement from him would normally be unbearable for her and cause damage to the skin and uterus at this point, but the skin of her abdomen and the uterus itself were both stronger and more elastic due to special vitamins periodically injected into these respective areas – the vitamins for the skin being more effective than any lotion could. This didn't completely prevent stretch marks, however, though her stomach would be riddled with them otherwise. Though the kicking as a whole was less painful to Angel, she would still feel the force of each one; they would sometimes move her entire body, albeit very subtly, and there were a few times where she would get half the wind knocked out of her. The heavily pregnant Siren simply learned to cope with it, for she knew her baby doesn't mean to hurt her.

Orion was definitely making his presence known to her, almost like he was reminding her that he was there, and perhaps it was his way of comforting her; It almost seemed like he knew when she was distressed and would act accordingly. She looked down and smiled warmly from the thought. _You're a very sweet boy, Orion,_ she pointed out to him softly, _I can tell –_ _Ouch! Okay, that wasn't so sweet, little one. You're hurting mommy again._ Her little boy stopped kicking as hard. _Thank you... You're a strong little guy, you know?_ She thought with a giggle. She patted her stomach and remembered how she would play with him by pressing down on her bump, back when her uterus still had room to move its fluid contents. _Having fun_ _in there?_ An eager response from the child followed. _I know, so much to swim in,_ she thought sarcastically, _You're going to want out soon._ _Any minute now, t_ _he doctors say so. But don't you worry, sweetie. Mommy's got a plan._

She sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to be with Orion after his birth, not until the Vault Hunters would hopefully rescue her… and then again they may not even make it to her chamber in the assault they had been planning. Even further, she wasn't even sure what would happen to Orion in the meantime; if he'd simply get swallowed by a thresher, hunted down by Hyperion, or Heaven forbid, choose the path of ruin and destroy all in his path. But then again, even if he somehow perished, or decided to be the bane of all life, Angel held onto the thought of him living free and making his own choices, even if it would be brief or foolish.

All of Angel's thoughts quickly vanished when she felt contractions and her water break.

* * *

– **Author's Notes –**

This chapter portrays Angel's quick acceptance and blossoming relationship with her unborn son. She is afraid of what her son is and what he's meant for at first, thinking him as simply a monster in the works, but quickly believes that he will still remain largely human, with rational thought and all. This is due to both her understanding of Orion's DNA and predicted physiology, and simply her hope. She has no idea how he will look, but as time goes on, she develops more maternal love for the child, as evident with her interactions with him in her womb. Angel also hopes that her early bonding with him via Phaseshifting will somehow strengthen his humanity, as well as form the critical step in her plan to free him.

These first few chapters are solely about Angel and Orion, but the other Vault Hunters will have their time to shine soon enough. Expect some more humor when that happens.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

– **Angel's Chamber –**

* * *

Angel's labor took place right where she always was: within the orange shield of her chamber. Jack, after all, still needed her to charge the Vault key uninterrupted. Angel, however, was laid out on a bed surrounded by hospital curtains, and she was accompanied by a surgeon and nurse allowed to assist her, as well as her father overseeing the operation in person. Her labor was quick and mostly painless due to the fact that it was a cesarean section. This, however, did not calm her nerves; aside from having to be sufficiently numbed but fully awake – and the fact that her father was watching the whole thing – her mind was wracked with worry about Orion. She worried that he would have complications, that he would be mistreated by the doctors, or that he would simply start dying after leaving the womb. On top of all that, she worried about what he would look like; if he would really appear human like everyone predicted he would, or if he would look like an animal or monster. Angel's worry was drowned out by the very familiar sound of a newborn crying, instantly causing tears to well up in her eyes. _Oh my God… this is it,_ Angel thought to herself ecstatically, _He's here! My son is_ _here!_

The crying subsided. _Well, he certainly sounds human,_ Angel thought. She heard one of the doctors start reporting to Jack about the child's status, which included statistics and analysis of his physiology and overall health: the former she had already heard the majority of weeks ago during the scientists' in-depth predictions, and the latter, she just learned that her son was completely healthy and stable, to her overwhelming relief. She turned her head to the doctor who performed the surgery, her watery eyes making contact with his. "I get to see my son, right?" She asked gently, but full of worry and plea. The surgeon felt nothing but remorse for the girl, his aged eyes showing that clearly.

"Of course. After he is cleaned, and after you are finished getting bandaged," the doctor said with a quick small smile. He then left to check on some of the readings from one of the medical machines. The bandage in question was a quite advanced alternative to stitches, and would keep Angel's surgical opening sealed very tight to allow potent healing medicine to re-knit the skin as well as the uterus, and would also provide oxygen to the area. Angel's abdomen itself easily deflated back to its original size due to the mixture of vitamins and chemicals still present in mentioned organs. All in all, Angel would heal pretty quick.

The bed Angel laid on folded upward so that she was nearly sitting up, enough so that she could make eye contact with her father, who now stood directly in front of her bed with his hands behind his back and a callous smile on his synthetic pseudo-face. "Very well done, Angel," He said with a sort of pride, "Healthiest baby I have ever seen. Gotta hand it to ya, when I need something done, you sure deliver," Jack chuckled.

Angel mentally brushed away his attempt at humor and put on her usual facade of indifference for her father. "Thank you, sir," She said with a practiced professionalism and a straight face.

"Angel, Angel..." Jack said with faked reassurance, "No need to be so formal right now. You just had a kid… and a pretty cool looking one too, if you ask me." Angel wasn't sure what he meant by that, but coming from Jack, she would likely not think the same. She would have started panicking inside if the surgeon hadn't walked back into the curtained area joining the two, holding Orion wrapped in a blanket. "You ready to see the little guy for yourself?" Jack asked his daughter, glancing at the child, whom was still completely hidden in the blanket from her angle. All Angel could do was nod eagerly. Jack chuckled, "Thought so."

Angel breathed in and closed her eyes, and waited anxiously until she felt the soft bundle of blanket and child gently placed in her arms. The first thing she noticed right off the bat, before even opening her eyes, was that he was considerably warm, much warmer than an average baby (and they had no reason to use a heated blanket). When she did open her eyes, they instantly widened – not out of horror, but awe. Two little human eyes stared back up at her, and their abnormality was obvious. Not only were the irises an intense violet, but they seemed to faintly glow as well. Another difference was his skin tone: he was very pale, like Angel, but the color was more of a light gray than a beige. She looked back to his eyes. She noticed the caruncles on the inner edges of his eyes were a much darker shade of pink – basically purple – as well as his lips when she glanced at them, though more faded with the very pale gray of his skin. Everything else, his ears, nose, and full head of black hair, were completely identical to a human. _He's so beautiful,_ she thought, her son continuing to stare at her in wonder. "How much time do I have with him?" She asked with a hint of worry, not taking her eyes off her newborn son.

"Not much I'm afraid. We'll give you an hour. We gotta get him in the vat soon for Stage Two."

Jack's words lacked any sympathy. Angel's heart sunk, but she didn't bother asking for more time, knowing that her impatient, uncaring father would mention some bullshit reason not to. "Well, I'm off to the lab for when the time comes. I'm proud of you, pumpkin." He then turned around and exited the chamber, along with any remaining staff, carrying himself with the same prideful arrogance he always had. His words meant nothing to Angel, but she hid it well.

Her chamber was vacated. It was just Angel and her little boy now, both finally able to see each other. She felt frustrated and saddened it would be for only one hour, knowing it was the most she would get. But those thoughts were tossed aside for the moment so that she would make this last as long as she could. She was so relieved to see that her child so closely resembled a human. _No, he_ is _a human, just very different,_ she thought, correcting herself. Baby Orion just kept staring at her face with what could be described as a loving intensity, as if he was ready to pounce at his mother in affection. "Hi, little guy," Angel whispered shyly. Orion focused more intensely at her eyes in response. "Hi, Orion," She said with some more enthusiasm, bringing her face a little closer to his and brushing away her braid enough so that her left eye would remain unobstructed to his view. Angel spent a few minutes simply staring at his eyes, mesmerized by the vibrant swirling violet.

The Siren mother still wanted to know how the rest of her son looked, and was also curious if he inherited the Siren markings, so she pulled her attention away from his eyes and to the blanket, unwrapping it enough to expose his arms and torso. Much to her fascination, one of those questions was answered immediately: a familiar yet unique pattern of violet – though not as intense and bright as his eyes – and it was curiously on the right side of his body instead of the left. She followed the markings all the way down his arm and to his hand, which were completely human. She checked his bare left arm; still completely human and no deformities. She then checked his torso; also completely human save for the skin tone, which she paid no mind, and for the Siren markings, which she adored. She noticed, however, that his breathing seemed very slow, but the expansion of his chest was more intense. "You must have very strong lungs, little guy," she concluded, causing Orion to slightly wiggle his arms. His mother smiled softly.

Angel still needed to see all of her son, so she pulled the blanket down further past his – _Y_ _es, everything seems to be there._ _Moving on_. She quickly shot her gaze back to his markings and followed them all the way to his right foot, completely removing the blanket as she did so. His pale legs and pelvis were completely human. She held him up in front of her gently and slowly turned him around. The only thing abnormal now was his spine: More bony and with an extra shallow ridge line on each side, but it was still proportionate to his body. Though slightly unsettling to look at initially, Angel quickly looked past the abnormality of the bone structure. She turned him around in front of her to face her again, and basked in adoration for the baby she held. "You're so calm… and quiet," Angel pointed out, "You feel very safe with mommy, don't you, Orion?" The baby boy stretched his arms out to his mother for a second. That was enough for Angel to start tearing up, and she quickly wrapped his lower half in the blanket, bringing him in against the bare skin of her upper chest and lowering her head to hide her collar.

Angel Phaseshifted into Orion's mind, his young psyche immediately mingling with her own to her surprise. Orion had more emotional attachment now that he could see his mother, and it was as if he was waiting for this moment. Their minds swirled and danced and played, the closest thing to describe it was a mental game of peekaboo mixed with tag. She enjoyed the hidden layer of interaction, but the ultimate reason for these Phaseshifts now was for her plan to work. She needed to strengthen her telepathic bond with him as much as she could before he would be taken from her. That was step one. Step two she would worry more about later. Their playing eventually slowed down and she started speaking to him within his mind once again. _I hope the plan works, little one… Just keep playing with mommy._ Orion brushed his marked right hand against her chin in an attempt to touch her face. Angel giggled quietly and kept his hand on her cheek with her left palm, and telepathically sensed that he was happy. _Be strong and tough for mommy when the time comes, sweetheart. I'll take care of the rest._ _I believe in you._ She brought her lips down to his warm forehead and gave him a very soft kiss. He cooed once, very quietly.

More tears from Angel's blue eyes, except they were of sadness; she knew time was ticking, and there was always a chance that this could be the last time she would see him. Even though she was confident he would become strong enough to escape, he wouldn't be able to free her by himself. Or so she thought, at least. Toward the end of the hour, Angel began singing a lullaby to Orion, one that her mother would sing to her, and the only one she knew by heart. The child's amethyst eyes slowly closed, and he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Four days had passed since Angel's hour with Orion. The clutter of machines and few items of furniture within her chamber were all removed, leaving it bare once again, and she was dressed in her original suit. Angel was left all alone again, floating within her prison and charging the Vault key, as if nothing had happened the past few weeks. This of course was not the case for Angel, whom for obvious reasons suffered the full effects of postpartum depression. Part of her wanted to simply cease to exist, to end the pain of these recent events, as well as the pain of cumulative years of imprisonment and neglect, which resurfaced with a newfound potency. It was a cocktail of grief and melancholy, and it was agonizing. The only thing that didn't push her over the edge into an early psychosis was her hope; her hope that the Vault Hunters would successfully obtain the Vault key and in turn rescue her, and her hope that her son would be strong enough to both break free from Hyperion and survive Pandora until she would be able to reunite with him.

Angel's hope spurred on after the Vault Hunters' most recent strike against Jack less than a day ago; they had successfully infiltrated Opportunity and obtained the Jack body double's pocket watch, and successfully synthesized his voice with the help of Angel. Things got hairy along the way, of course, but they managed to hold their ground long enough to get what they needed and get the hell out. Needless to say, it was a bloodbath, and the Hunters themselves didn't leave without injuries. Angel never liked all the violence, but she couldn't do anything about that, and she knew it was even necessary on a border world like Pandora. Morals aside, the Crimson Raiders had everything they needed now to assault Control Core Angel and take the Vault key. All they needed now was time to lick their wounds, plan the assault, then mobilize.

Their plan was surely coming together, and so was Angel's. From her sessions of Phaseshifting into Orion's mind when he was still with her, she had formed a telepathic bond strong enough for a fraction of her consciousness to remain within him. It was a small fraction, but enough for her to maintain the connection at the current distance between the two, which was still fairly close: he was still in Control Core Angel, or more specifically, below it, in a sub-complex hidden within the rock. This sub-complex was known as the Manticore Labs, after Handsome Jack's pet name for Orion, all under Angel's feet. After all, Jack wanted his "Little Family of Heroes" in the same heavily fortified area. Orion himself resided within a large clear vat, completely submerged in nutrient-rich fluid and clad with tubes protruding from various different areas of his body, greatly accelerating his aging process as he slept. To him, it was as if he was in the womb again.

Angel Phaseshifted and connected to Orion's subconscious, immediately greeting him in a very slow, soothing whisper, as she didn't want to stir Orion in his limbo and risk suspicion from the lab team or her father. _Shhhh… keep dreaming, my son… and listen: You're name is Orion…_ _you are capable of being_ _very_ _powerful… and dangerous… but I believe you will be a good person._ _Find the Crimson Raiders… in the flying city called Sanctuary. Do not hurt them… they will be your friends. I hope to see you soon…_ Angel had told him this exposition many times before in hopes that he would gain an understanding to her message. She wasn't sure if he would completely understand it, but she felt that it would help guide him by some degree.

After her brief monologue, Angel put the next step of her plan into action. She began exploring the systems within the Manticore Labs and delved into each bit of code, using Orion's subconscious as a proxy to conceal her neuro-digital signature from the firewalls and security that would otherwise detect her within nanoseconds. Orion's signature was unrecognizable to the security; It was surprisingly effective, but Angel still worked very subtly to remain inconspicuous. She made a note of everything she found: which doors to lock and unlock, which systems to override, which lights to destroy and leave on, and if it came down to it, which sections of the sub-complex to cut off from filtration and life support – all these actions to be executed within a matter of seconds in order to give Orion the best chance of escape. The breach itself would need to wait further, as Angel wanted him to be at his prime in strength, even if it meant he would appear much older than his mother. In fact, Orion was currently the same age as Angel in physical appearance, a curious coincidence for what was to come.

Angel continued to explore, and stumbled upon something that disturbed her. She recognized the patterns of data originating from this very small object: it was a control chip. More specifically, a control chip used for organics. Angel had a suspicion that Jack would install a chip into Orion as his way of controlling him, thinking back several weeks ago to what he had told her: _'_ _Let's just say I have a way of making sure he only attacks the bandits, the Raiders… and any other jackasses that piss me off or betray me.'_ Thankfully, the chip was not inside Orion yet, otherwise she would have discovered it immediately entering his mind. However, with the fact that the chip was already in the lab, installed in a terminal, and downloading its needed software, it was obvious to Angel that they planned to install it very, very soon.

The Phaseshifter picked up chatter between her father and whom she assumed was the head scientist of the facility. "Sir, the control chip is nearly finished with downloading the protocols. Are you sure you wish to install it before the maturity process is complete?" The scientist looked up from the chip's terminal to a large monitor screen on the wall, Handsome Jack's image glaring back at him. He was currently overseeing the project remotely from his office in Helios Station.

"Yes, I'm sure. The sooner the better, why are you even asking me? Those Raider jackholes grew the balls to attack Opportunity, and I need him ready to bring the fight to them," Jack's eyes narrowed, "But I need that chip in him before anything else. Gotta make sure he doesn't get any ideas… if he would even have any at all." Jack ran a hand through his hair off screen after his display of paranoia had subsided.

Angel frantically tunneled her focus into the control chip and attempted to override its subroutines to trigger a permanent shut down, so that it would at least be a useless bit of metal implanted into Orion's brain. In her panic, she accidentally fried the chip, which unfortunately was enough for the systems to detect her. Angel received a painful shock to her collar moments later, and her father's scolding followed. "God damn it, Angel!" Jack yelled with clenched teeth from the massive monitor in Angel's chamber, "What the hell are you doing!? You're not supposed to even be able to do that there!" He shocked her again, "My own daughter plotting against me! Why can't you just see the big picture, Angel!?" His voice was becoming furious. "I guess I'll have to teach you some more discipline!" Another shock, another scream of pain. Angel's plan had failed. Orion would not be free, or at least Angel thought so.

When Angel's Phaseshift was ripped from Orion's mind, her pain went through, causing him to wake in a frantic state from her distress. From the outside, the scientists observed in horror the subject ripping wires out of his skin and pounding on the vat, with alarmingly increasing strength, making progressively larger cracks in the extremely strong glass. Even more alarming, they saw him also begin to change color and grow in size. "Sir! The subject is awake and breaking free! He's resisting all the sedatives and he's… transforming somehow!" The head scientist yelled in dismay.

Jack immediately ceased his punishing of Angel and returned his attention to the lab. In his panic, he forgot to shut down the connection with Angel, in which she could hear everything Jack was saying. "Woah, woah! What do you mean he's resisting!? Those sedatives are enough to knock him out five times over! And he's transforming? Like, mutating!?" The pounding from the vat in the lab continued, growing louder and heavier. "You guys were supposed to know what you're doing! None of this was supposed to happ–" The sound of glass shattering and liquid flooding freely interrupted Jack's berating, and a thundering roar was heard, accompanied by the screams of the lab personnel. "Holy shit!" Jack yelled, dispatching more security to the area and remembering to end his connection with Angel.

What had emerged from the vat was far more monstrous than what previously occupied it… and far more angry. The humanoid beast rampaged throughout the room, smashing and ripping apart anyone that got in his way. One scientist could be heard screaming that this wasn't within predictions, before he was smashed against the wall by a table thrown at him at incredible speed. Another scientist had his life abruptly ended by the beast's foot crushing him into the floor, the brute throwing his corpse at the screen Jack was looking through afterwards, roaring in anger. The raging beast crashed through a nearby wall and ended up in a corridor, bursting through several reinforced doors and bulldozing over security forces arriving at the scene. Bones broke and blood splattered as the newborn monstrosity massacred the troops, ripping them apart as if they were made of cotton. The ones farther back that had time to shoot barely did anything to the beast, as the bullets simply bounced off his skin and fell to the floor in a jingle of brass, and only made him angrier. He threw chunks of dead troops at the rest, knocking them over if not killing them outright, and lunged at the survivors, crushing the helmeted heads of two of them with ease, and ripping the last one's head off with his teeth. Terror ensued throughout the Manticore Labs as the monstrosity continued to hunt for a way out.

Back in her chamber and recovering from her electric torture, Angel was left only with what she had heard Jack bark at the scientists before he shut down communications with her. All she knew was that Orion had woken up and managed to break free from his vat without her help, and that he was 'transforming' somehow. She knew he would be strong, but not this strong, especially at his current age of physical development. No, something else happened, something unpredicted to all of them, and she knew it of course had something to do with him 'transforming'. Angel was not only panicking from her worrying about Orion's safety – since she couldn't aide in his escape as she planned due to her state of recovery – but also from dreading what her son had become if the circumstances were indeed true. She had also wanted to avoid as much bloodshed as possible, and she was still rather clueless as to what was happening beneath her. She got a better idea once she began hearing noises of destruction through the rock and metal, her dread building up with each crash and bang which were getting louder, and that meant closer. Her dread turned to panic once she heard the roaring: so terrifyingly beastly yet at the same time still so strikingly human. Her panic turned to terror afterwards when she heard loud banging coming from behind the entrance to her chamber, the thick sealed doors denting with each resounding pound against metal; he had cut a path of destruction through the labs and managed to climb up the elevator shaft to reach Angel. The Siren was honestly terrified, terrified of what Orion had already become and terrified of what he would look like now, if this was truly him.

The solid thick metal doors began to give in and bend away from each blow, the entire chamber filling with the sound of pounding metal and monstrous grunts. A massive knee broke through between the sturdy doors, followed by a massive meaty fist breaking through above it, which caused Angel to scream in fright, cowering down to the floor behind the machine that housed the Vault key, away from the door. The assailant gave a quick roar, to which Angel sensed was surprise; a fact she would remember later, for at the moment she would about piss herself if not for the fact she had never eaten or drank anything in years. After Angel screamed, Jack appeared on the monitors around the room, his face laced with panic. "Angel, what's going on? Did he actually reach you!?" The Siren was too shaken to respond immediately, but she didn't need to, because Jack's monitor of the doors caving in gave him the answer. The creature on the other side gave a menacing growl after hearing Jack's voice and began prying the doors apart with fervor, the durable metal slowly giving way. "Ah shit, He's actually getting through! Sit tight, sweetie, these loaders should take care of him." The digistruct machines on the walls of the chamber began constructing combat-ready BUL loaders, metal shields raised and assembling in front of the bending bulwark that was failing to keep the intruder out. Angelic Guard loaders soon followed from the production queue and lined up in two groups on each side of Angel's protective shield, behind the BUL loaders.

As the monster pried the doors some more, all the loaders began firing at him. He stepped back from the door in annoyance rather than pain, and rammed himself into the doors with tremendous force and a furious growl, knocking them completely open. Angel peeked over her concealment and for a quick moment caught a glimpse of the silhouette of the lab beast's hulking form towering among the mass of robotic troops, ducking back down with a gasp immediately afterward. The massive beast charged into the nearest group of BUL loaders, knocking a few of them over with ease. He then tore one in half above his head like it was made of paper, hurling each piece past Angel's shield at two of the screens of Jack, causing the man back in his office to flinch. Though the special kinetic barrier around Angel was completely impenetrable and impassable, she still hid in fear from the terrifying violence and the being enacting it, burying her head in her arms with eyes shut tight for the rest of the fight.

The fight dragged on, the raging gargantuan tearing through the tough robots all over the room. The Angelic Guards would bog him down at times with their incendiary beams and bullets, which were able to burn through his skin and muscle with some focus, but the flesh and tissue would quickly heal immediately afterward. The BUL loaders did their best to ram and stagger the brute, but even with all their weight in the attacks, the best they could do were push him slightly off balance and briefly disorient him… and anger him more. Larger Heavy loaders joined the fray, their dual incendiary cannons pumping round after round into the creature. He kept the projectiles from hitting his head so as not to be blinded – even though his eyes would likely heal or grow back completely – and leaped up to one of the monitors, tore it off, and hurled it back in one swift motion, slicing through a few of the offending loaders into red hot halves due to the extreme velocity and friction of the impact. He landed on a nearby BUL loader and completely caved in its head area with a punch full of rage, even managing to dent into the solid metal floor beneath. The dead hunk of metal was then used as a partial shield against the stinging incendiary projectiles, and later as a bludgeoning tool against the heavy loaders and any others that got in his way.

Jack was beginning to realize that the loaders stood no chance against this incredibly resilient foe, and it was only a matter of time before the digistruct machines would overheat and need a few moments to cool down. "How much can you take!? Get away from her!" Jack shouted, the adversary ripping off another screen and throwing it at the next in angry response. _He does NOT like me,_ thought Jack with widened eyes. He watched in shock as the gargantuan continued to assault the loaders with a seemingly endless vigor and rage. Angel, meanwhile, continued to huddle down and keep her eyes closed, doing her best to get a grip on herself amidst the violence before her. The now one-sided battle was quickly coming to a pause when the digistructors began to overheat from their continuous operation. The brief victor closed in on the last loader, an Angelic Guard that would be oiling itself if it had emotions. He grabbed the doomed machine by the leg and smacked it against the floor repeatedly until its top half was a crumpled sparking heap. "God damn it! Just leave her alone you fucking monster!" Jack fumed. The beast slowly turned his head from the remains of the final loader toward the last working monitor. He glared straight into Jack's eyes on the screen, seething in hate and malice toward the man in a low, spiteful growl, as if he was telling him, 'Shut the hell up.' He did. The beast picked up a nearby body of a Heavy loader, raised it above his head, and hurled it at the hated man's image with little effort, destroying the last working monitor into a sparking mess. Jack himself stood frozen in fear for a moment from the sight. The fact he was thousands of miles away seeing it through a screen meant little; the display of hatred in that one gaze left his skin crawling. _He REALLY doesn't like me,_ was the only thought that came to him for the moment.

Angel remained where she was, shaken. She slowly opened her eyes to the now quiet scene, eyeing the wreckage of the robotic carnage which pointed toward the contrary. Among the mass of debris, she had no difficulty spotting the hulk just yards away from her, but with his back turned and facing the previously intact monitor as it fell to the ground in sparks. She quickly looked away from the glimpse of detail: the rippled muscles, the pale violet skin, the spiked spine. She desperately wanted to believe that this monster was just a freak test subject unknown to her, and that her actual son was still in the labs somewhere still needing to be freed. Her hopes were shattered when she looked back at the beast. Eyes of intense violet stared back at her, their striking familiarity among the beastly features leaving Angel frozen in horror. The muscle-clad colossus calmly turned his massive stature toward her and directly faced her, the vibrant purple Siren markings on the right side of his quickly healing burned body completely confirming his identity. Angel's heart broke at that instant, finally realizing that this monstrous genetic abomination was indeed Orion, the same Orion she had held in her arms as a newborn just four days ago. Her moment of melancholy returned to terror when the mockery of her son started walking toward her. Angel screamed and brought her arms and legs against her, making herself as small as possible, the exclamation startling the monstrous Orion with a grunt and causing him to halt a few feet from the orange kinetic barrier.

As Angel laid there shaking and crying in a fetal position, Orion wanted nothing more than to destroy the glowing obstacle keeping him from his mother. He frantically beat on the force field over in over but to no avail, the action only frightening her further to her wit's end. Angel couldn't take it anymore. "Stop! Stop it! Just stop!" She shrieked. The colossal Siren ceased his barrage and stared intently at the crying frightened mess that was his mother. "Just go away! Go… a-a-away…! P-Please, just l-leave me alone!" She yelped in between sobs. Orion looked down to the floor for a long moment, and without warning shot up and darted out the exit in a fit of rage. A fit of rage that his mother did not want him. He climbed up the elevator shaft all the way to the surface, breaking through the closest section of wall he could find in a psychotic flurry until he battered a hole to the outside. The wailing beast paid no attention to the setting sun among the scenery, leaping off the side of the mountain complex with his powerful legs out toward the first direction he looked. He tore through any Hyperion loader and personnel that got in his way, eventually outrunning any opposition that attempted to hunt him down afterwards. The emotionally pained monster Siren leaped and sprinted across the landscape, howling into the night. No Pandoran creature nor marauding bandit that got in his path would survive, and terror ensued beneath the twilight until the beast himself slowed down atop a ridge, staring at the sight of a flying city of lights far off in the distance.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Chapter three at last, and finally some action! I have to be honest, it takes me a long time to type chapters out. I just get lost sometimes in daydreaming as I type, and I also attempt to polish as much as I can as it gets plotted down. It may not be the best way to write/type, but it's my way. This chapter specifically was honestly meant to be published a week ago, but events in my personal life got in the way as well as work. Also, just to get this out of the way, don't expect this story as a whole to be updated on a regular scheduled basis. I work on this story when I feel like it and I never want to force myself to dish out chapters; rushing it would ruin it for me and likely depreciate the quality of writing. I will say this again though: I appreciate each person that takes the time to read what I put down in this story, so thank you.

This chapter as a whole is a long one, that's for sure. Twice as long as the previous chapters in fact. I wanted to have both Orion as an infant and Orion later much older (in appearance, at least) within the same chapter to convey how little time had passed between Angel seeing her son as a beautiful baby and seeing her son as a terrifying hulk beast. Really set in the mood on how quickly and chaotically things had changed for her. I also didn't want to make a fourth chapter still in the setting of Angel's Chamber as I think it would have started getting too slow or boring for readers… and maybe myself, too.

On a side note, a Heavy loader is what I call a Badass loader, at least in this current setting. I felt that that specific video game terminology would not set the theme right in my opinion. Some characters will still call them badasses in dialogue every now and then, however. I'm sorry if this is discouraging to some of you. Maybe I'll change it back, who knows?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

– **Sanctuary –**

* * *

The city of the Crimson Raiders hovered high in the sky, its lights shining among the darkness of the night. The city folk went about their business as they usually did, be it trading supplies, selling wares, or getting drunk – debauchery was certainly a favored pastime on the border worlds. The Vault Hunters had recently returned from their successful mission in Opportunity, and were each celebrating in their own way after they had been patched up and debriefed. It was a quiet night, which surprisingly Sanctuary got a lot of. Axton and Salvador were both enjoying their needed down time together in front of Scooter's garage by the edge of the city, smoking joints and unwinding from the stress built up from the previous mission. Axton stood gazing at the night sky in his herb-induced trance while Salvador leaned back lazily in one of the chairs they had brought with them.

Axton took a drag from his joint. "Ya know, Sal, we cut it pretty close a few times back there," He said as he exhaled, still looking at the stars.

Salvador grunted, his voice low and gruff from the cannabis. "Maybe if your little turret didn't crap out of bullets, we would have come out with a few less scratches… but at least I don't have to worry about bandages." Salvador was already trailing off in his own thoughts after the jab, moving his head around in circles and puffing from his joint.

The Commando glanced back to Salvador. "As much as I'd love to have it go 'pew pew' endlessly, unfortunately it can only hold so much ammo at a time, and I've told you guys that before, dude. Besides, they threw a lot of loaders at us when we cut down those statues. It pissed off Jack though, which was hilarious!" Axton snickered to himself as he reminisced the fascist's fits of frustration, and Salvador couldn't help but chuckle from his utterance of 'pew pew'.

"I lost it when he said that dicks joke about Moxxi," Salvador added, chuckling a little more. Axton looked to Salvador and started nodding and laughing, remembering the remark toward the busty bartender, which then caused Salvador to burst into full laughter as well. It took them a couple minutes to settle down again.

Axton sighed, and took another drag. "I still can't believe how many bullets Krieg can take and not go down. I thought he was a goner when that big loader got the jump on him."

"He tore it apart though, which was cool. At least he knows how to use that buzz axe of his, even if it's probably dull as shit," Salvador mused.

"Yeah, and he knows to strike the joints on those things," Said Axton as he swung his tomahawk idly. "Gotta hand it to him, he's damn scary when he gets angry like that." He flipped the tomahawk in the air and caught it, then put it away. "Funny enough, I thought he was the scariest guy I met, until we saw Brick in action back at Thousand Cuts… talk about blood lust." He stared at the ground for a moment, shivering slightly from his recollection.

Salvador looked up at Axton. "Well they don't scare me. I may be short, but I'm just as tough. These muscles aren't just for show, you know." Salvador grinned, biting down on his joint and flexing his meaty arms with an exaggerated grunt. Axton smiled in amusement.

"You are a pretty tough dude, Sal. Come to think of it, you've probably taken just as much punishment as Sir Axelot himself," Said Axton, his nickname toward the Psycho causing Salvador to snort in humor.

"I'm a god damn superhero," Salvador said between chuckles, erupting into laughter again shortly after. Obviously, Axton joined in. Another few minutes of straight laughing among the two followed.

After settling down again and conversing in stoned rambles for awhile after, Axton got up and looked into a telescope that was set up just a few yards from them at the edge of the city, casually surveying the lands below while Salvador sat back and puffed some smoke rings. The Commando dragged his gaze along the landscape of the Highlands, the hills and valleys faintly illuminated by the moonlight. He looked at Overlook nestled on the edge of the plateau, then to the Hyperion compound beyond it. He chuckled to himself, thinking back to when they had assaulted the place just so they could use the mortar to test Overlook's new force field. Salvador heard him and looked up from his joint. "What you laughing at, amigo? Rakk shit on someone out there?"

"Ha! I wish," Axton laughed, eye still focused through the telescope, "Nah, I was just remembering what we did back at that Hyperion checkpoint near Overlook. I'm looking at it right now… place still looks deserted, aside from the loaders that just get replaced eventually."

"Stupid loaders," Salvador mumbled, blowing smoke out his nostrils.

"Yeah man, we still need to take those digistructors down one of these days," Said Axton as he watched one of the distant loaders wander around aimlessly. "At least the loaders there are only on security protocol." Salvador was too focused on the smoke rings to give an intelligent answer other than a grunt. Axton steered his vision away from the compound to the rolling hills and crevices again. He overlooked a small anomaly among the landscape for a moment in his scenic trance, but quickly did a double take. He was unsettled at what he saw: a figure atop a distant cliff, so far away that he could only make out the tiny silhouette under the moonlight. It was unmistakably humanoid; he could see two arms and two legs, as well as a head, but it certainly wasn't human… the proportions were off. The head was small compared to the body – the body itself looked extremely muscular – and the limbs looked bulky with muscle. However, this thing was definitely not a bullymong, and as far as Axton could tell from the physique, as well as the size comparison to its surroundings, this figure was certainly taller than one, and perhaps taller than Brick, but it was hard to tell from the extreme distance. Even more unsettling still, the figure appeared to be looking at Sactuary, or even straight back at Axton, due to the posture. The slightly bewildered Commando took his eye off the telescope for a moment to process what the hell he was looking at, not moving the device an inch. He returned his eye back to the telescope, and to his confusion, the figure was gone. Axton was now more puzzled than anything. He turned his stare to the nearly finished joint in his hand. "Hey, Sal? What exactly are we smoking right now?"

"Truxican Hemorrhoid, like I usually get. Why you ask?" Salvador had an earbud in one of his ears, listening to some Spanish music on his Echo device.

Axton looked back toward the direction of where he saw the figure, "I think it's making me see shit."

Salvador thought for a second. "Hmm… maybe you're just getting crazy flashbacks, Soldier Boy." The Gunzerker trailed off immediately after and started humming to the music he was listening to.

"Huh, maybe," Replied Axton, playing along with the joke and brushing off what he had seen. He looked at his joint again for several seconds, then pressed it to his lips and finished it, stomping out the rest that was just ash. He lit a cigarette afterwards for the time being and sat back down with Salvador. The two of them sat glued to their chairs for the next couple hours, snacking from a huge bag of chips made from local synthetic wheat, and listening to some very old Earth music of various genres from Axton's Echo. They conversed about small topics after every few songs, having moments of laughter occasionally, and enjoyed their high as they progressively slowed down their intake, giving it a gradual decline.

The two celebrating men were later greeted by a third individual. It was Maya. "Hello, stoners," She said with a smirk, "I had a feeling I would find you two here."

Axton turned his head slightly and glanced at the woman. "Well, hello there. What brings you to Cannabis Corner?" He asked as he smoked a joint and blew a smoke ring.

Salvador chuckled heartily at Axton's greeting, and Maya couldn't help but to snort. "Have to be honest, that was pretty smooth, Axton," Said the amused Siren.

"Thanks. Gotta be honest myself; I pulled that one out of my ass." Axton admitted, a trace of his usual ego in his voice.

Maya rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm sure you did, Soldier Boy."

Salvador erupted with laughter, which caused Axton to snicker. The sight of the two men laughing in their chairs caused Maya to giggle for a second. "Why is everyone calling me that lately?" Asked the Commando, his palm to his face.

Salvador piped up. "It fits, amigo. And it's better than calling you Colonel Shitstain!" The bulky man rolled his head back in laughter at his own comment and fell off his chair with an 'oof', causing Axton to point and laugh at his clumsy friend and Maya to laugh, too. Salvador didn't bother to get up, but grabbed the bag of chips and started wolfing down on what was left as he laid on his back.

After the moment subsided, Maya got a bit more serious. "Listen guys, I was just with Lilith a few minutes ago, and Roland had echoed her about a disturbance reported by some of the townsfolk of Overlook. Something about plumes of smoke and sounds of fighting and _howling_ coming from the Hyperion compound… you know, the one on the hill?"

Salvador grunted and nodded his head, still stuffing his face with chips and trying his best to listen. Axton had a perplexed look on his face, and gave a more intelligent response, "Yeah, that one. I was just looking at it awhile ago." He pointed his thumb to the telescope he had used during that time, "But there was nothing out of the ordinary from what I could see. Just a few glimpses of the loader skeleton crew there."

Maya walked over to the telescope and peered into the lens. "I forgot that we have a few of these now," Said Maya, rotating the device toward the compound, "Well, I definitely see smoke… and a few fires… and I think some of the structures have collapsed." Maya sounded a bit surprised. "That's some heavy damage."

"No way!" Shouted Axton, rushing to Maya, whom stepped aside so he could see for himself. Sporadic fires dotted the distant feature like embers among the twilight, belching black smoke into the night. The familiar pattern of the buildings' contours among the background of the landscape had changed since Axton's previous look-see just hours prior; some of the structures had indeed crumbled to the ground. The Commando was shocked. "No fucking way… if I looked out there longer than I had a few hours ago, then I would've seen the whole thing!"

"I should also mention that from what I've heard, the noises stopped about an hour ago," Informed Maya as she walked with Axton back to Salvador, whom was too busy hunting for the last few chips in the empty bag. "So the fight itself probably lasted little over an hour."

"And from the looks of the place, it looks like the defenders lost," Axton added, "Looks like we won't have to go back there and finish business, since someone, or something, beat us to it. The question is: who?"

"Couldn't be threshers. That area is too rocky." Said Salvador in a display of his native knowledge, finally getting up from the ground and sitting back in his chair.

"Agreed, and they're the only wildlife out here that can cause that much structural damage," Replied Maya.

"Even then, Hyperion structures are pretty sturdy," Axton interjected, "All else I could think of is bandits, but they still seem to lack the organization and firepower to actually trash a heavily fortified area like that, and there aren't any camps within several miles; they wouldn't even bother." Axton thought of the creature he had seen on the horizon, and for a moment he wondered if not only what he saw was real, but also responsible for this recent event. He shook the thoughts away again to speak some more. "I'm gonna be honest, Maya, I don't like the sound of this. I think I'd wanna check it out, but not right now, of course."

"I'm glad you mentioned that, because I volunteered to investigate, and I wanted to ask if one of you could tag along; they want to send one other person with me, but no more. This isn't something urgent, but they still want to have an idea of what happened out there… and not to draw too much attention in the process." Maya explained.

Maya looked to Salvador, who was quiet the whole time and yet to have a say. He waved his hand dismissively, "Soldier Boy beat me to it. Besides, still gotta clean my guns."

The Siren nodded her head, "Alright. If I find any nice guns out there, I'll be sure to bring them to you." She said, smiling.

Salvador grinned. "You know me so well, amiga. Gracias."

Maya looked back to Axton. "We don't need to head out right now, but in several hours. We can both have some time to rest in the meantime."

"Sounds good," Replied Axton, "You want any of this?" He held up his joint to Maya, which was half finished. She looked at it and thought for a moment.

"I'll have a little buzz, but then I'm heading back to Lilith," Maya decided. She brought the joint to her lips and took a couple small hits, coughing afterwards. "Definitely not used to that," She croaked, handing the smoking object back to Axton. "Try to get some rest eventually, Axton. You guys have fun."

Maya left the two and got back to her own shenanigans. Axton sat back down in his own chair, and Salvador immediately elbowed him, giving him a shit-eating grin. "You gonna make a move on her yet?" He pried.

Axton sighed and closed his eyes. "For the last time, Sal, I don't think of her that way." Salvador started chuckling. "I'm serious, buddy. Besides… I have a feeling she's not even into guys."

Salvador laughed some more, "You mean…? That never crossed my mind!"

"Yeah well, there you go. But don't take my word for it. It's just a hunch, and I don't want to start spreading rumors." Informed Axton.

"No worries, amigo. I'll probably forget anyway," Said Salvador.

"Probably," Replied Axton, "Welp, I'm gonna have to cut off early. Would be a good idea for me to get some rest now." Axton packed up his chair and headed back to his apartment, giving his goodbye to his stocky friend, whom remained where he was for a while longer, listening to music and enjoying the evening.

* * *

The night was not so enjoyable for Angel. After Orion's rebirth as that terrible beast, and Jack's visit to check on her after his escape, she had been spending the next several hours on her knees, sitting and staring into space, completely ignoring the wing of surveyors repairing the damage to her chamber and removing debris. She was traumatized. Traumatized from the rampage that unfolded right before her eyes. Traumatized that the monstrous bogeyman responsible was her son. Most of all, however, she was traumatized from what she _felt_ from him; from what she _sensed_. She felt his rage, his violence, his bitter hatred; it was terrifying… and heartbreaking.

Heartbreak. She sensed that from Orion, too, after she had told him to go away. He wasn't trying to kill her: he was trying to free her, and she rejected him, she realized that now. It was not his fury that haunted her as much as his heartbreak from her rejection. She was overtaken with guilt. Orion was still in there somewhere within that hulk, but perhaps none of him was left now; perhaps her rejection made him mindless, or he simply got himself killed out there – though the latter scenario seemed unlikely. She began to fear for the Raiders' sake, that her offspring would find obliterate them all, along with the innocents they protected, in a fit of primal rage. Perhaps Jack's plan would unfold after all, as only he would benefit from that.

In the midst of all this fear, guilt, and anguish, however, Angel still had a tiny spark of hope to counter the hopelessness of the situation. She honestly didn't know why, but she still believed deep down that her son would prove her wrong; that he wouldn't be destined to be a mindless tool of destruction – the fact that they failed to install the control chip helped the thought, for one, but most of it was still faith. She clung to this faith and looked up hopefully for a moment, practically praying to whatever unseen force or mantra out there for things to work out, at least for her child. If only she could speak to him and guide him somehow, but he had no Echo device she could link to and Orion himself was well out of range for telepathy. The biggest setback though, was that her father would also be completely cracking down on her communications and overall activity from now on. It was all up to the Vault Hunters now, and she couldn't even at least warn them about her son and his potential danger. She would need to have a lot of faith in all of them.

Angel closed her eyes and slowly floated back above the ground, and put all her focus into her hope. _Please don't hurt them, Orion. Please…_

* * *

– **Author's Notes –**

Stoner alert! This story certainly isn't meant for kids. There will be more scenes like that, but not all the time. At least it's funny… to me, that is. I hope I wasn't too far off with the characters, it can be difficult to replicate personalities just in general.

There will be no Axton x Maya in this story, I'm sorry. They're more like war siblings for this read, similar to misspk's fanfic: Maya's Story: Past, Passion, Purpose (Unfinished, but I still highly recommend reading it). I don't know if I'm going to pair Axton with anyone, or if he's just going to be a player, but Maya definitely will be paired… not saying with whom, but it will most likely be obvious when it comes up. (Hint: it's not Orion, either.)

This chapter hopefully provided some comic relief, even though there were more sad Angel times at the end. Hope is really the only thing Angel can do now. Slightly related, I even see her as being agnostic in this story. We'll see. I definitely want her to be very empathetic and, in a way, innocent in this story.

I should mention that I'm sticking with Pandora's actual ninety-something hour day/night cycle… the problem is that with the passing of the weeks of Angel's pregnancy, I kept thinking earth days. So let's just say Angel's three week pregnancy was about six Pandoran days. Not a huge deal, I hope.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

– **The Highlands, Near the Ruins of the Hyperion Compound "Aggregate Acquisition" –**

* * *

Axton and Maya strolled through the crevices and cliff sides of the rough terrain in a light runner under the cover of the night. They stuck to the highway to avoid the threshers and made sure to take a left before they would hit the Opportunity bridge checkpoint, offroading through the creeks of the enclosing gorge. The smell of burnt metal filled the evening air as the runner approached the familiar roadblock which marked the entrance to the compound. The roadblock itself was uprooted and nowhere to be seen, and one of the turret towers had completely crumbled over and tumbled downhill into the creeks below. Axton, whom was driving, parked the runner beside the remaining tower, and got out of the vehicle along with Maya.

Axton eyed the damage to the entrance and decided to investigate it further for clues as to what attacked, and with what weaponry. "I'm glad these survived that train explosion, too," Thought Axton aloud as he pulled out his tech goggles and put them on, switching them to infrared nightvision. Maya simply charged a small amount of energy in her left hand and used it like a flashlight to help her see. They took some time to survey the initial area.

"I see no signs of the use of vehicles. No tracks other than our own." Informed Maya.

"And I can't find any traces of potassium chlorate, phosphorous, or magnesium, to name a few. Those are all used in explosives… so I guess none were used here."

"No vehicles, no explosives. I'm starting to think bandits aren't responsible," Replied Maya, "No signs of thresher tunneling either, at least out here, and Salvador mentioned that the cliff the compound sits upon is too rocky for them anyway."

"So whatever took this tower down must've been the impact of something thrown at it… or it was just pulled down by something. Brute force. I'd wanna say bullymongs, but there aren't any out here for hundreds of miles. Even then, I don't think even the bigger ones could do this. Hell, they wouldn't even bother wasting the time."

"Goliaths couldn't do this either. Not even the enraged ones," Maya added, "These structures are built to stand strong."

"Well, let's go take a look at the _real_ damage now," Proposed Axton, to which the Siren agreed. They walked uphill past the entrance and into the courtyard, which was completely trashed. The two stood there for a moment taking in the mess. Chunks of loaders littered about the area like a junkyard, some of them still emitting sparks from their sockets and damaged areas. Fires still roared from spilled oil and other chemicals, and buildings were clearly collapsed or close to collapse. The area was completely ransacked.

The two Vault Hunters resumed their investigation, and it didn't take long for them to find new shocking evidence: a footprint. It was recognizably human, but it was massive – much bigger than any goliath's. They noticed a few more of them leading across the courtyard until they were hidden beneath rubble and loader remains. The two stared at the tracks, then at each other. There was only ever one set of these footprints, and the two investigators both thought that perhaps whatever this unknown being was, it was clearly capable of decimating entire platoons and fortifications by itself. A living siege weapon. It was around this time that realization hit Axton and he put two and two together. He lifted his goggles and stared at Maya with a deeply concerned expression. "Maya, there's something I should've mentioned back in Sanctuary…" The Siren listened intently and beckoned him to go on with a nod, equally as concerned as Axton. The Commando continued, "I mentioned I scoured this place using the telescope? Well, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary here, but I did see something several clicks in the background, toward Opportunity."

Maya turned her body to face Axton. She didn't like where this was going. "What did you see, Axton?" She asked.

Axton looked to the side. "I saw a person, or something close to that, but it was huge and muscular, I'd say bigger than even Brick. It was so far away and too dark to see any more details, but I could tell it wasn't a bullymong or a goliath: Only two arms, proportionate legs, and the head seemed normal. I didn't mention this because I honestly thought I was seeing shit, I mean, I was stoned… and when I took my eyes off it for one second and looked again, it was gone." Axton took a moment to recollect more of his thoughts. "And the thing that concerns me the most, is that within two hours this thing had both arrived here and completely destroyed this entire fucking compound. Whatever this thing is, it's big, it's fast, it's strong, it's tough…" Axton eyed some of the loaders, which were savagely torn apart, "… And it's very pissed."

Maya was a bit shocked, this definitely wasn't a coincidence if what Axton was saying was true, and she believed him; his expression and tone said it all. Above all else, she, too, was afraid of this unknown creature's power. "So we're dealing with a very powerful humanoid mutant of sorts. Could it be another escaped Hyperion experiment? Like Krieg?" Asked the Siren.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Said Axton, glaring at the massive 'H' in the sky that was Helios Station. "But this one is far more destructive… looks like good ol' Handsome Jack tried to step up his game again, but failed." He snickered slightly for a moment at the thought of the fascist's expense, but got serious again. "This mutant is still loose somewhere, and with how fast it is, it could be anywhere. We should still search some more, but then head back on the double and report our findings to Roland."

"Sir yes sir," Said Maya with a half-assed salute, trying to make some light of the situation. Axton snorted and tried to hide a smile, so it worked. They split up and searched for any other clues as to what they might be dealing with, but all they found were more demonstrations of the attacker's strength and psychotic rage, especially on the loaders; some were mashed together, some had holes and chunks punched out of them, a few them were simply stomped into the ground, and some of them appeared to have been thrown violently against different buildings… and likely other loaders. Maya took a closer look at one of the robots, and she could clearly see a huge hand imprint crushed into its 'head', as if it was made of clay.

While Maya stayed in the courtyard, Axton continued up the flight of stairs leading to the mortar, and saw that it was torn from its foundation and flung into the nearby building. _This thing must_ really _hate Hyperion,_ he thought. He followed the path up to the excavation area with the engineer kiosk, except the structure was torn off its foundation too and tossed somewhere unknown. _Not even the buildings had mercy. Jeez._ He looked out toward the rest of the compound. Nothing out there had mercy either. He glanced back at the excavation, and noticed something on his nightvision. It looked like the outline of a person lying down. He switched his tech goggles to thermal imaging. It was definitely a person lying back against the cave wall, alive – and also naked. Axton darted to the body, which he found out was male, and pulled out a blanket from his survival gear. He covered him up and pulled up his goggles so he could see the person with more detail using a flashlight. This person was young and lightly built, barely out of adolescence. He was also unconscious. Axton pulled the blanket down to start checking for wounds, but immediately stopped dead when he saw the right arm and torso: purple Siren markings, and they were too perfect and pristine to be tattoo knockoffs. The Commando immediately echoed his partner, "Maya, I found someone up in the excavation past the mortar. He's unconscious but there's something else about him you _need_ to see."

"Got it. On my way," Replied Maya. He sounded urgent, so she rushed up the stairs to meet up with him. In the meantime, Axton quickly looked over the boy's body for wounds, and surprisingly found no scratch on him at all. He was completely unharmed. Axton also noticed how the markings went all the way down the side of the boy's body to his foot, just like the other Sirens. He was completely dumbfounded the whole time. Axton heard Maya approaching and left the boy's upper body uncovered, and kept his light shining on him. "Good find, Axton. Now what's so-" Maya stopped dead just like Axton once she saw the markings. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were widened in disbelief, and she stood there like that for a solid few minutes. She stepped toward the unconscious young man and crouched down next to him, scouring every detail of the markings. Different color, different pattern, but unmistakably Siren. The thing that baffled her the most, however, was that it was a _male_ Siren… something completely unheard of. She shot her gaze up to Axton, "We have to get him back to Sanctuary," She said urgently.

"Wait, Maya. Let's think about this for a minute," Suggested Axton, "First of all, what was he doing out here? And why is he in his birthday suite, unconscious?"

Maya tried to think for a moment, though it was difficult due to her excitement. "Maybe he was looking for food or shelter? Or maybe he was running away from the mutant and chased here? And the lack of clothes… I don't know. Maybe they were torn off in a struggle? Or burned?" Maya looked him over again, "You said he has no injuries of any kind?"

"Not a scratch… but you know what I think, Maya? Him being _here_ after all this shit transpired, naked, unconscious, and unharmed… what if he's the mutant? What if _he_ turns into _that_? It sounds crazy, but nothing else is adding up."

Maya looked at the Commando in disbelief, "Look at him, Axton! He's a Siren and practically has the same body build as me. How can someone his size transform into something big enough to produce those footprints, and perfectly change _back_? It's too drastic!"

Axton was a bit taken back from her outburst, but understood her excitement. The thought of a person this light of build transforming into a bulky monster – and reverting back perfectly, too – sounded far-fetched to Axton as well, but he still had a bad gut feeling about the situation. "I don't know, Maya, but from what we can tell, he's a Siren somehow. Maybe this is one of his powers?"

That thought didn't sit right with Maya. She wanted to find a reason that this wasn't the case. She felt a tinge of pride for her lineage, and looked on at the unknown boy with esteem. _Transforming into a hulking beast is not a Siren power_ , she believed, thinking to herself. _It's just not… Siren._ "I don't believe it is. It sounds more believable if he had faster healing, like Salvador and Krieg, or maybe resistance to fire, like Lilith? Perhaps he really was in a fire, only to crawl away with his clothes burnt off, lose consciousness, and rejuvenate?"

Axton listened to her ramble on, and he could tell she wanted so badly to take this stranger back to Sanctuary, perhaps out of sympathy for what he was, or in hopes to find out more about herself – in fact, he was spot on. To Maya's relief, Axton gave in, and concluded that there were too many questions left unanswered. They both decided to end the investigation and return to Sanctuary with the male Siren immediately. He was bundled and rested onto a jump seat in the back of the runner, still unconscious, and Maya sat next to him to keep him secure. She kept glancing back at him in wonder the whole trip, thinking of things to ask this mysterious boy when, or if, he would come to, and she hoped that he would have at least some answers she was looking for. Deep down, however, Maya already knew he would know no more than her… but at least she wouldn't be alone. _Hang in there, brother Siren,_ she thought, _I'll make sure you're safe._

* * *

The long night dragged on in the hemisphere of Pandora below as Handsome Jack sat at his desk, still busy with the repercussions of the transgenic incident. The immediate repairs to Angel's chamber and its entrances were already nearly complete, and the reconstruction of the Manticore Labs was going at a steady pace. He had just finished assigning replacement senior staff for the department and decided to leave the rest of it for the Board of Directors to deal with. They were certainly good at finalizing everything and dealing with the 'complicated stuff'; he blackmailed and kept them in their positions for a reason. The man's mood was sour, to put it lightly, not only from the events of the incident but also from the hours of paperwork afterward. He had also been informed that Aggregate Acquisition, his outpost in the Highlands, had been assaulted. Again. Except this time it was decimated, and its power grid destroyed. It was either the Crimson Raiders coming back for round two to finish the place off, or his escaped pet having a heated reunion with his corporation. He hoped for the latter; he would be close to the enemy and at least keep their hands full.

The CEO got up from his desk and walked over to the study to his left, the bookshelves lining the wall and meeting with the fireplace at the corner. He sat in the lounge chair with a glass of liquor in his hand and stared at the dancing flames as he recollected his thoughts from the recent events. He successfully created a male super Siren, his 'Manticore', a feat that would be written down in history forever, if only the Siren phenomenon had more recognition – but he was now a mutated mindless beast, akin to the slag experiments… but he knew slag was not the case; Sirens were immune to its effects, which was something he learned once when he tested the substance on a sample of Angel's DNA. So what else could have caused such a dramatic transformation? Perhaps it was the Eridium that continuously flowed through his daughter, but then again the element would have no effect and simply pass through unless it was actively channeled into their powers – and to top it all off, Eridium itself had no mutagenic properties. None of this was adding up. Jack had to agree, however, that this hulk, anomalous as it was, was very powerful. He saw how much punishment he took from the loaders and personnel, and how he just kept going and going and going… and he saw how incredibly strong he was, too; he broke through a triple sealed titanium bulkhead for God's sake. It was as if the bestial side of his DNA had come out full swing to lash out at the world with the most primal ferocity he had ever seen. That much unexpected raw power, wasted away and roaming free. He would either need to be captured and controlled, or terminated should that plan fail. In the meantime, he hoped that the brute would cross paths with the Raiders and make a bloody mess of them. He smiled darkly at the thought.

Jack's smile faded when he started thinking more of his daughter. Angel had crossed the line this time. She thwarted his crucial step in controlling his creation, caused him to escape, and also put herself in danger. He worried for her well being during the moment of chaos, but her role as his tool still overshadowed her role as his own daughter, and he saw her actions as a betrayal. A betrayal to him and his cause. A betrayal to the Warrior, who would create his paradise on Pandora. Jack stood up in a fit of rage and chucked his glass against the fireplace with a yell, sending glass shards across the floor. He stared angrily for a moment until his face slowly softened again, and put his hand to his forehead. _What am I going to do with you, Angel?_ He thought, taking a deep breath. He had completely locked her powers using her collar, but that was only for the time being and it wasn't exactly the best way to teach her a lesson. He thought for a moment that maybe he should simply have her carry another child, or more. Make a whole army of them… that would teach her. He eventually shook those thoughts from his head; as possible as it was to simply make another, even he knew not to cross that line with her again. That would not only strain her body, but also strain their relationship further; a relationship which he refused to acknowledge was dead long ago. He also made a promise to her, and he wanted to keep that promise for once. _Can't you just understand I'm doing this for_ us _,_ _Angel_ _? Can't you see it's to bring order to this planet, not only for the greater good, but for us to have a paradise_ together _?_ _Why would you keep me from doing that? Why are you thinking like…_ them _?_ Jack was fervent in his thoughts. Though his reasoning was incredibly ironic in its purest form, he was too blinded by hate and arrogance to see it.

As a cleaner bot scurried in to clean up his mess, Jack wandered back toward his desk and gazed through the massive window to the planet below. A beep was heard from his desk and the voice of the reconstruction supervisor of the Manticore Labs came through. He had been expecting updates from the subordinate directly. "Mr. Jack, this is –"

"Cut to the chase, I know who this is. What's the status?" Jack stood where he was at the window, not bothering to turn around.

"Yes, sir. All rubble has been cleared and we are currently in the process of the resealing and rewiring of the general infrastructure. We have also managed to locate and recover the project-sensitive 'Manticore' DNA serum from the debris, and none of its seals have been compromised." His boss smiled at those words.

"Excellent. Have it placed in quarantine storage, and make sure it's easily accessible for the doctors when they arrive. You are dismissed." Jack gave a small sigh of relief. The serum was still intact, that was one weight off his chest. There was so much potential in that expensive strand of DNA, and he sought to find a way to use it effectively without the need of his daughter. More research and testing was required; that's why he had scientists. He placed his hand on the window and continued to stare over Pandora's features and think to himself. _Pandora will be ours, my dear. Just trust your father…_

* * *

– **Author's Notes –**

Oh yeah! Plot! Character development! Word stuff! This chapter has that all.

Don't you just love it when the protagonists are skeptical about the truth that we all know, and they disregard it for the sake of plot development? I have to be honest, I was iffy on writing Axton's suspicion of Orion and the hulk being the same person (and his 'what if that's his Siren power' scenario), but then again I didn't want him to seem freaking stupid and not at least begin to put two and two together… but I also didn't want them to just find out immediately. As a result, I left that part in, and it serves as a bit of irony: that Axton was right (mostly) right off the bat. As for Maya, she served as his voice of reason of sorts when she rejected the idea and proposed counter arguments, even though in truth she was wrong. Also ironic. (Note that they still think a perfect transformation back and forth is impossible; they do not think Orion is the hulk.)

As always, thank you for reading.


End file.
